This is an old copy of the Python FAQ. The information here may be
outdated.

Why is Python installed on my machine?

If you find Python installed on your system but don’t remember
installing it, there are several possible ways it could have gotten
there.

Perhaps another user on the computer wanted to learn programming
and installed it; you’ll have to figure out who’s been using the
machine and might have installed it.

A third-party application installed on the machine might have been
written in Python and included a Python installation. For a home
computer, a common such application is PySol, a solitaire game
that includes over 200 different games and variations. Several
computer games and other applications also ship with Python
interpreters.

Some Windows machines also have Python installed. At this writing
we’re aware of computers from Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Lenovo
(IBM) that include Python, and use it for various administrative
tools.

All Apple computers running Mac OS X have Python installed; it’s
included in the base installation.